Governor Charlie Baker has appointed the head of a Cambridge-based advocacy group to the position of Massachusetts’ Child Advocate..
For the last seven years, Maria Mossaides has been the Executive Director of the non-profit Cambridge Family and Children’s Service, which, despite its name, operates in more than a hundred cities and towns around the state. The organization provides intensive foster care services, arranges adoptions, and offers other support services for kids and disabled people. Despite being appointed by the Governor, the Child Advocate’s position is an independent one. The advocate ensures the state provides adequate child welfare services, and advises on how to improve those services. One of the last acts of the current Child Advocate, Gail Garinger, was the release of a sharply critical report on the management of the state’s Department of Children and Families. Garinger was just named by Attorney General Maura Healey to head her office’s new Child and Youth Protection Unit.
